I am new here and relatively new to soccer. I watch it on tv often, but have limited knowledge of teaching/coaching/training my daughter. I am in the US and there is a state forum for discussing soccer. However, there are a bunch of elitests that beat people down for asking what I think are valid questions, especially for new parents like myself. My daughter is in a development league this year. She played up a year. She played U9 this past year and her growth and ability in the game skyrocketed. She is able to perform the drills and execute the moves (at an 8yo level, not Ronaldo level). The primary goal of the league is individual ball mastery and I can understand that. To get to my question, and I got berated for asking this else where, is my daughter can perform the moves and drills when they are practicing (scissor, cross over, faints, cutback, Cruyff, Maradonna, and others). When they get into 1v1, she doesn't try them. She continues to try to run through the defender. Her coach tells her and I tell her to try to do the moves. It doesn't matter if she is successful or not. We tell her she will never be successful using a move if she doesn't try. Is this just something that comes with time/age or is it something I need to start "beating her over the head" to do? And no, I would not hit her, just encourage her and start trying to force her to use the moves.
So this is pretty typical of a youth of that age. It takes some time before many are comfortable enough trying moves versus opposition. One way I have found to help this is to use opposition in three levels for each of the move drills. There is no opposition, just trying the move, passive opposition where the defender is present but not actively trying to obtain the ball and aggressive opposition where the defender is trying to get the ball. I also for kids this age use a point system to see how many points they an obtain, points are 1 pt for each move attempted and 3 points for each successful move which includes a proper finish (scoring into a pug type goal)
I'll second the observation that this is typical of young players. It's partially cogniative, IMHO. It takes a little time to learn skills she's picked up in one context (practice) and apply them in another (a game against another team). Adults see the two activities as obviously related, but I'm not so sure 9 years do, at least not completely. The game has pressure--there are adults watching, other kids trying to stop you from doing what you're trying to do, and consequences for mistakes. While she's in the game, she's locked into a different mindset than she is when she's impressing parents and coaches with her ball-handling skills. Don't assume that her young brain is fully making the connection between moves in practice and in games. And also don't ignore that there's more pressure out there--with, as noted, people watching, coaches and refs looking for mistakes and outcomes, and an entire group of kids trying to stop you from doing what you want to do--than we soccer parents sometimes want to acknowledge. While you might be thinking "I really wish she'd try one of her stepovers NOW" she might be thinking "I wish this was practice so I COULD do a stepover right now." Just my been-there/done-that perspective, as a father of a pretty good teenage player who often shied away from showing his stuff in games when he was 8 years old (and even older).
Thank you for the feedback. I live in the US and the state I am in has a very good forum for soccer in the state. They are so full of themselves and berate people for asking these types of questions. I know it is all about having fun and I do everything I can outside of practice to make it fun. I am mainly trying to see how much pressure to put on her to try moves. From the info so far, just let it ride. She is completely comfortable in games to do defenses moves like pullback, pullback again, shield, and dribble all the way from the attacking box to out of bounds for a corner kick (she did this in her last game and the coach was laughing trying to explain what she did good and what she needed to correct).
First good news from tryout season. My daughter just made the supplemental indoor team to her development academy. Development academy tryouts are next week. She is pretty much guaranteed to make it. It is just a matter of which tier team. She made the 3rd team this past year playing up a year. If she has a tryout like the supplemental tryout, she will most likely be on the first tier team. The only down side to this is that we have to leave her current indoor practice team. We love the coaches and the way the teach. The only problem is they are new and do not have enough quality girls playing for them yet. It is mostly rec players that will eventually make challenge. Most do not have the desire or drive to make classic at the moment. The current plan is to take private lessons through them 2x a month. Their main private trainer is a coach on the development academy, played MLS and NASL for a bit, and will be able to peak at her during games to mentally note things to work on.
The missing step between the drills and the games is unstructured play imo. Posters above are right on about the fact that this is typical of every kid at this age and it is because of the pressure to perform, in games yes, but also in regimented practices with adults telling them what to do. When I grew up with the game I could ride my bike down the street and go play with random kids in pick up games all day every day, but I couldn't find any real professional coaches to teach me technique. Now days there are 10 professional trainers for every kid, but no casual play lol. Luckily this is the easiest thing to supplement imo, here are 3 suggestions: 1. Organize a small sided pick up game play date once a week, same time each week at the same place. Get the kids excited to play, pick teams, play with them if necessary, etc. Often times kids at this age and day need a little help to get going, but after that you can just roll the ball out and get out of the way. Don't stop play, don't criticize and don't judge. Ideally you would read a book or something while they play. 2. Play with her in the backyard on her terms and let her be the coach, let her choose what she wants to do and ask her to teach you all the cool moves she is learning. Only offer to play and do it if she is really interested and whenever she is bored and wants to do something else end off. This is also where doing something like isoccer together could be fun. 3. Play rec along with the fancy club stuff. (I would do this anyway). In my humble opinion ideal player development includes letting a player be dominant, particularly if you want them to use their foot-skills and particularly at the younger ages where time on the ball and self confidence are crucial.
It is a good question no matter with the others on that site say. It's sounds like your daughter game is improving that is great. Learn one move in practice. try to do it against people in practice. Coach should tell her when she gets frustrated when it doesn't work. Not to worry that is practice is for and also practice it at home with you. She will get better with practice. She will be able to beat people with it eventually. Then she moves on to the next move the same thing. The problem comes when she does the move so good she can beat people with it all the time. She will have a tendency to use that same move over and over. You don't learn 4 moves at one time. One at a time till she can really see that she can beat people with it in practice. The she will have the confidence to try it in a real game. Sometimes it will work other times it might not work. It is a learning and confidence issue for her. Then move on to the next one. That one might be THE one for her. Those people who attack you are amatures who think they are not, but trust me they are. Good luck and do the most important thing you can do for her, and that thing is to love her. You would be amazed how many parents don't really love their kids. My father was one of those so I know.
Some players, for whatever reason, refuse to try the moves they have been taught. My daughter is U12 (U13 league), and she's pretty fast but very small. She's always been fast but small. I've told her repeatedly a few things regarding using moves in games for years: 1. People want to see moves, whether it's your parents, your coach or people just watching a random game. Doing moves is exciting, even if they don't work. 2. Not every pass you attempt goes to a teammate. Not every shot you take ends up in the goal. And not every move you attempt will work. You won't stop passing or shooting. Why stop doing moves? 3. Why do Brazil and Argentina often produce the best players in the world? It's because they are so skilled with the ball. 4. Who would you rather stop? The great dribbler or the great passer? Luckily, my daughter is a sponge (my son not so much, but I tell him the same stuff), and she isn't afraid to do moves, except for a Maradona (I stay on her about it!). When she tries a move and it doesn't work, I reassure her it's OK. Try again. Her skill level is why she's able to play for one of the best teams in the state. Her coach loves her skill level and confidence in taking people on.
My older dd who is a top U10 Gold level player did not have very good ball skills when she was a U6 compared to some her teammates at that age. I put her in camps, took her out and showed how to perform feints, found the best coaching, and had a lot motivational talks with her. By the fall of U7 her overall speed improved and she started performing cuts and pull backs in games. I then took her out of rec and put her on a good comp club. She played up U9 and made the 1st team. She got to practice 3 times a week with one of them being a technical training session. Her ball skills continued to get better the more hours she put in. I continued to put her in private training that focused on feints, 1v1, and 2v2. Fast forward to now and she is playing U10 age appropriate and has strong technical ball skills. Nothing too flashy just uses her moves to get out of trouble or when she is attacking. My older dd has put in the time and has a great work ethic that has continued to help improve her feints. My middle dd is a phenom and everything has come natural and easy for her. I did not teach her much as she knew what to do with the ball. The first time she dribbled when she was 2, it was with both feet and she kept the ball close to her body. At 4, she was doing step overs in rec games and faking out opponents. She started in a comp academy at 5 where she learned more feints. At 6 she was playing up 2 years at U9 and successfully performed a Maradona in a game more than once. She is currently 7 now and her favorite move is a step over -turn or hook which she does in games. She is very strong and hard to push off the ball. Her touch is very good as the ball is always close to her feet. Each player is wired differently. Some learn when you've show them something once while others learn through repetition. Some are wired differently psychologically where they are not afraid to try a move in games while others think too much about doing the feint to the point where they would rather not do it to avoid making a mistake. Keep them loving the game and they will want to learn and get better. Also you need them to belong to a good development club with great coaching and support.
I'm not sure if the original questioner is monitoring anymore, but I have to offer my 2 cents... My current U10 daughter started out very advanced at U7-U8 because she has 2 older siblings that play. She is small, but was always quicker, more tactically capable and with a stronger leg than her peers so she was successful. It wasn't until the past year that her footskills became a focus. We switched clubs with her and the new club and coach have been a revelation. They focus on technique and skills during practice as much as other teams seem like they do, but have been able to translate the same focus in games where players feel more free to perform the moves. How? It was a simple matter of scorekeeping. The league that they play in has no standings, no results postings, no championship. The coach has taken the opportunity to keep "score" of all of the aspects of the game. Successful moves, passes, tackles are all afforded the same level of praise as a goal or an assist. He uses the league games to positively reinforce the freedom the players have on the field. Now, before anyone thinks that the club has eliminated the notion of winning and losing, the team does play between 4-6 tournaments (indoor and outdoor) a year and in those settings, final results are more important. However, the mentality about trying moves in a game has been ingrained in the girls from the regular season trial and error and they exhibit the freedom of expression you love to see on the field. What it took was a commitment from club and coach and an understanding of the big picture from parents (that's actually the hardest aspect for some) that no one is getting scholarships based on U10 or U11 wins and losses in the regular season. For my own daughter, she has virtually abandoned the backyard shooting practice she used to do and is strictly working on new moves. During he club break this summer, she has been working on adding a rainbow to her arsenal (without coaching or prodding) so she can show up when practice starts and demo it to her coach and team.
I don't want to hijack this thread but I don't have privileges to start my own. However, my questions were along the lines of the OP. I have a U-12 daughter, she is extremely fast (blew away everyone regional Track & Field 200/400), agile ball skills, and is tall for her age and tallest on team (I'm 6'2"). With this in mind, we just completed our first year of club soccer, and her development sky rocketed from city travel (made first team for both club/city) for up coming season. However, being fairly indifferent in regard to soccer personally, in order for her to get the best out of her interest and ability, I question which organization would be best for her in my neck of the woods. All the area club teams boast of being great, but reading these forums, I think The South has far more interest and competitiveness than we do in The Northeast (specifically Northeastern Massachusetts/Southern New Hampshire). Does anyone have a concrete answer to which program emphasizes on development? Or a well regarded club team? We're in a great area for elite High Schools (Andover, Exeter, etc.), and she makes the grades (my emphasis), but listening to coaches and parents, she stands out and suggest getting her into a better program. I'll stick with the academic side, but I don't want to short change her if she has true talent, ability, and desire (which she states she does) to play at higher levels. There's so much information out there, some useful, some not so much, but this forum appears to have some genuinely interested and experienced people in the business (yes, I look as "U.S." soccer as a business). Thanks in advance, and maybe a moderator could move this to my own thread.
Try out for several teams and see which is the best fit. On the ECNL side there are the FC Stars and Boston Breakers Academy.
From my experience with my daughter, she won't use any of those moves until it feels "natural". That can only happen with extreme repetition. I know this is a tangent, but Futsal really helped us...they get so many more touches and focus specifically on 1 v 1 situations. If you're up for it, try it in the off season.
This topic is 5 years old so I'm pretty late to the party. Don't get caught up in all the scissors, step-overs, maradonnas, etc. I used to get on my kid about that stuff, but she said "dad, I don't care about all of that. I just play the game as fast as I can and my feet just do the work." She'll be playing D1 soccer in 2 years so I guess all those things don't matter as much as I thought.
As someone who tried learning new moves as an adult, I can say that for me, it was like ok I can learn a move at home/in my yard. I try it over and over. I get the mechanics down. Great. Now I go to a game, but I just can do the move. Why? Because I never practiced it in that setting, only at home with no pressure and not in the actual situation. The maradona is used in a different situation than a scissors, they are for different problems. So, ideally to learn these you would learn the mechanics, then you would be able to replicate the scenario with a "dummy" ie a friend or mannequin or something like that to actually create some small pressure. Then gradually build up the pressure from there, and then when you're in the game it will be more natural to do the move. Based on what I learned from my own personal experience with trying to learn new moves, I now am implementing more of a situational-centric approach to teaching my kid. I realize that the situation dictates the move. So I want my kid to learn the mechanics, but also learn the situation at the same time so he has a holistic knowledge of how and when to use the move.